How NYC Expanded Its Charter Sector

Education Next: In the fall of 2003, a few weeks after announcing the funding for our new small schools, we launched our charter school initiative. Whatever the tumult so far, we knew this would be the most controversial thing we had done. The idea that a public school system would support and develop new charters to compete directly with its own noncharter schools was unorthodox at the time and remains so today. Typically, school districts resist competition and, at best, wait for outsiders – both for-profit and nonprofit – to raise money, develop plans, and seek approval for charters. That process could take years. But we believed New York City’s kids couldn’t afford to wait for better options.

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